An Elite Warrior
by CrossedOne
Summary: Sequel. Prince Damon's Selection has finally come. The problem? He's already in love. He arranges for the woman he loves to be put in to the Selection but he could never have anticipated just how he would change. He felt so certain before, but when the time comes he will need to make a decision and it might not be the one he expected to make... No copyright infringement intended.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel to An Elite Fighter, please check out that story first if you haven't already because otherwise this story probably won't make much sense.**

**SUMMARY:**

**Prince Damon was the first child of the Queen and King of Illea. He's finally eighteen and now it's his turn for the Selection. The problem? He's already in love. He arranges for his love to be entered in the Selection but he could never anticipate how the Selection could change him or his opinions. He felt so certain before the game started but when the competition finally begins, Damon will have to make a choice, and it just may not be the one he expected to make...**

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The quiet clicking of shoes against marble filled the empty hallway. It was the same thing that would echo through the palace halls daily–maids scurrying to clean and guards patrolling in search of rebels. These were the sounds that I grew up with, sounds that had comforted me since childhood. Today, however, these soothing sounds could not calm me. I was nervous as hell for this.

My father had called for me to come to his office–something that only happened when he was upset with me.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was decent for a teenaged boy but sometimes something would slip and it would let others know about something that they shouldn't. It rarely happened now that I was older, but I was called to his office frequently as I child because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

_What if he found out about Grace?_ I stopped the thought before it could form. There was no way my father knew about her, no possible way. I always made sure that we were careful not to get caught. I'd even gone so far as to meet her outside of the palace walls once because I thought that the maids would see too much in a hallway.

Slowly, I took in a breath and adjusted my suit to erase any wrinkles that may have formed. I seriously hoped that this conversation wouldn't be too bad.

I knocked on the wooden door in front of me before I dared to enter–I did not need to see my parents in a lip-lock again like I had the one time that I didn't knock.

I waited a few seconds and then let myself in. I shut the door quickly and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk before I risked glancing up, letting out a small sigh of relief when I realized that my dad was the only one in the room.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked.

My dad smiled and looked up from the paperwork that he had piled in front of him. "Yes, we have a few important things to discuss."

I waited patiently for him to begin but was startled when the door behind me opened. I turned slightly in my chair and smiled as my mom sat down beside me. I leaned over and kissed her cheek quickly and she rolled her eyes but I caught the slight curve in her lips that told me she liked it.

"So, what's so important that both of you had to be here to talk to me?" I asked curiously. It was rare for my parents to do this sort of thing in privacy because we would usually just discuss things over dinner so that the whole family would know.

They both grinned at me. "Damon," my mother began, "your birthday was yesterday. You are officially eighteen years old."

I shrugged. "Yeah, what about it?"

Dad chuckled and shook his head at me. "It means, son, that it's your turn for the Selection."

I froze in my seat. Oh shit.

Mom must have noticed me tense up because she cocked and eyebrow at me, demanding an explanation with her firm and unwavering gaze. She knew something was wrong.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I didn't exactly know how to discuss this sort of thing with my parents. They'd probably be upset because I'd kept it from them for so long.

"Who's the girl?" Mom asked calmly.

I sighed. That damn woman was infuriating. She could always tell exactly what the problem was–even if I hadn't said or done anything.

"Grace." I whispered just loud enough for them to hear.

Grace was my girlfriend and the love of my life. I remembered the day that we met with perfect clarity.

I had been working in the infirmary because my mom had insisted that I get some first-aid training in case of an emergency. I had been restocking cabinets with supplies when Grace and her father had been carried in. They had been working with some new horses, training them so that they could replace all of the horses that had grown too old to ride. While rising one of the horses, Grace's father had been bucked off and landed head-first onto the ground.

He had died due to his injuries as soon as he'd been carried through the infirmary doors.

However, Grave had live.

She had been trying to drag her father's body away when the horse had bucked again, kicking her in the chest and breaking several of her ribs. It was a miracle that one of them hadn't punctured her lungs.

Thankfully, a maid nearby had seen Grace and her father and had managed to get help.

When Grace was carried in, the doctors needed an extra hand and I was the only one there. I'd helped them wrap up her torso after they'd reset the bones and I'd even given her the shot of pain medication afterward.

I stayed with her that night, making sure that he vitals remained steady and strong.

She woke up in the middle of the night and looked panicked, trying to pull the IV out of her arm and struggling in her bed sheets.

I'd stopped her, of course. We talked for a while as I explained what happened and forced her to relax and lie down in bed so that she didn't strain herself. When the time came and she asked about her father, I'd told her the news. She'd cried for well over three hours and I held her in my arms and let her wet my shirt.

After that night, we started to see more and more of each other.

Soon enough, we'd both confessed our feelings and the rest was history. We'd been dating for about a year now.

I explained our story to my parents and Dad sighed when I finished. He rubbed the back of his neck and then looked directly into my eyes.

"Are you one hundred percent certain about this girl?"

I nodded firmly without hesitation. "Yes…I love her."

My mom looked toward my dad and they silently stared at each other for a while. They did that a lot and it seemed as if they could communicate with each other silently. It was both amazing and creepy.

Finally, my dad turned back to me and nodded. "Okay. I'll see to it that Grace is put into the Selection."

I grinned at them.

"However," my mom continued, "you will at least attempt to date the other girls in the Selection. I don't want you to send every girl hoe on the first day."

"But–"

"No, Damon. I know that you love Grace but she might not be the one for you. At least give the other girls a chance before you disregard them all. You might just find yourself falling for someone else."

My gut tightened at the thought of giving up Grace. I loved her, she was my girlfriend. I wanted to marry her and have kids, I wanted to get old with her and ramble on to our grandchildren about some of the crazy things that we had done. I wanted her to be my wife.

I didn't want to betray Grace and if I dated the other women in the Selection then I would be betraying her in the worst way. The mere thought of dating other woman made me feel sick to my stomach. I loved Grace, I didn't want anyone else.

"If you don't try to date the other girls, I will not put Grace into the Selection, Damon. It's your choice." Dad said with narrowed eyes.

I sighed, realizing that I wouldn't be able to change my parent's decision any time soon. "Okay, fine. How long do you want the Selection to last if my feelings don't change?"

_Which they won't,_ I told myself firmly.

Dad thought for a moment. "Two months should be a decent amount of time. After that, I'll allow you to make your decision."

Okay, two months wasn't that bad. I could do this…two months and then I'd have forever with Grace.

"Thank you. Is there anything else we need to talk about?" I asked, ready to go so that I could explain things to my girlfriend.

Dad shook his head.

I stood to leave but my mom stopped me briefly. "Damon, when the time comes please make sure that you choose your wife out of love. The advisors will probably try to sway your opinion but you'll have to ignore them and listen to your heart. You don't want a wife that you'll hate but that everyone else loves."

I smiled and kissed her cheek again. "Yes ma'am."

Once again, she rolled her eyes at me.

I smirked at her because it was just something that she did all the time. She might not act like she liked it but I knew that she really did like it when I was affectionate with her.

"The drawing will be in two weeks. Make sure you're presentable by then."

I grinned at my dad, saluted mockingly, and strode out of the room with my head held high.

Now, I just had to explain everything to Grace and my siblings.

Great. I'd be lucky if my siblings didn't kill me with their excitement–they'd all been looking forward to my Selection for years after all. Grace though…hopefully she'd allow me to keep my arm attached to my body.

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**Hey there again guys! It's great to be back. This note holds important information about the story so PLEASE read this...**

**Ok, I'll we be posting this story MUCH slower than I did the last one. I'll be lucky if I can do a chapter a month, real life has just been kicking me in the butt lately so please be patient.**

**Also, this story will start out much slower than An Elite Fighter did but I promise that the wait will be worth it. I plan on delving much deeper into the stories behind some of the characters and give better background information.**

**This story is not beta'ed so all mistakes are mine. I type this story on my phone so I apologize for any grammatical errors which will probably happen rather frequently.**

**Thank you to everyone who created a character for this story! I have not ignored you, I promise! I'm just rarely online so I usually don't have time to respond to anyone's messages or reviews! I REALLY appreciate you guys taking the time to contribute to this story! It really means a lot to me, so thank you. I will acknowledge every user who submitted a character and will add the character's name next to the acknowledgment in the author's note. Thank you again!**

**I look forward to writing about this crazy adventure, so I hope you enjoy reading it.**

**Thank you to anyone who reviews, follows, or favorites my stories. You guys are my motivation to write, I cannot even express my gratitude for all of your kind words.**

**I look forward to seeing what you guys think so please review. I appreciate constructive critism so please feel free to review or message me about anything that you think that could be improved (aside from any grammatical errors, I try to fix them but it simply isn't possible for me to catch every grammatical/spelling mistake that I make.**

**Anyway, thank you again and happy reading everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I made one slight mistake in the last chapter. Damon is in fact nineteen years old; sorry for the error last chapter. Also, Damon is the son of America and Maxon in case any of you were confused about that. Thank you to all of you who have followed, favorited, and/or reviewed this story! I appreciate all of you, you give me the motivation to write this story and I hope you end up enjoying it. Now, on to Chapter 2…**

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"What do you mean you 'actually have to date other girls'?" Grace whined even as she clung to my arms with her head buried in my shoulder.

I sighed, her working clothes gently scraping my fingers as I rubbed up and down her back. "My parents insisted that I at least try to date the other girls in the Selection."

Grace grumbled unhappily and began to pull away from me. I wasn't going to have that though and pulled her back to me, securing my arms around her tiny frame so that she couldn't escape my grasp.

"Look, babe," I sighed once more, "I love you, okay? I'm not going to be interested in those other girls but I have to at least pretend for my mother's sake." I pulled away just slightly and tipped her chin upward so that she would look at me. "I love _you_, no one else. You need to trust me with this, Grace. I don't like doing this either but if it's the only way that we can be together, I'll do it."

She sighed and relaxed into my arms again, hugging me firmly as I clung to her just as tightly. "I don't like it, Damon. I hate that I'll have to share you with thirty four other women but at the same time, I understand."

"Two months, babe. Two months and then you'll never have to share me again, I promise."

She began to rise up on her toes and I leaned down to meet her. Our lips touched and she sighed, allowing me instant access inside of her mouth. She was soft and pliant in my arms and I moved forward until she hit the wall. I tasted her mouth as she wrapped her arms around my neck and began tugging my hair. I'd probably like it if she didn't pull so damn hard but I was used to it and I knew that she liked it so I didn't stop her. Besides, kissing her made up for the slight pain in my scalp.

When she broke away with a gasp, I moved lower and began to suck gently on her neck, careful not to leave any marks on her no matter how desperately I wanted to. It turned me on beyond belief just to think of marking her in some way, of letting the world know that she was mine, and mine only. The saltiness of her skin spread along my tongue with each lick and bite and her mewls turned into soft moans of pleasure.

A beep caused me to pull away from her succulent flesh with a sigh. I hated that damn watch that she wore. More so, I hated how we were always on a schedule. I couldn't wait for the day where we had all the time in the world to be with one another, maybe just sit and talk rather than hurriedly touch when we had a few minutes alone and occasionally whisper in passing in the halls.

She blushed and smiled apologetically as she pressed a button on the side of the screen. "I have to go."

I gave her one last soft, chaste kiss and then stepped back. "I'll see you later, Grace."

"Sure, sure." she replied softly and then scampered away so that she could get back to work.

I returned to my room as quickly as possible and sat at my desk, rubbing my hands down my face and I thought over the whole day. Everything was just so messed up and confusing right now. My life had literally turned around complete just because my age had changed.

I pulled out some paperwork that my father had left me to complete and set to work balancing out budgets and giving my opinions on various other issues throughout the nation in writing. I was working on a paragraph that summarized everything I wanted done when my door was swung open with a loud bang.

I glanced over and shook my head as I saw all of my siblings piling themselves into my room. I turned back to the sheets of paper in front of me, pretending that I didn't mind their presence. I seriously wasn't looking forward to the barrage of questions that were sure to come soon.

After a few minutes of silence my baby sister, Aria, pushed my paperwork away from me and I chuckled when she tried to raise her brows at me. She'd learn to do the bitch brow that our mom had perfected one day but right now she just made herself look constipated and utterly adorable.

I pulled Aria into my lap and kissed her slightly chubby cheek, she was only six so I could get away with giving her some affection. I may sound biased, but my little sister was a perfect angel and I loved her the most out of all my siblings sometimes just because she could always make me smile no matter how shitty my day had been.

I remembered the day that she had been born fondly; I was the third person to hold her after she'd been born. It was insane how quickly I fell in love with her after I held her in my arms for the first time. She had been a good baby, too. Aria had hardly cried at night and when she did she only needed to be held for a few minutes before going back to sleep. I remember the time that my mom had woken after she'd heard Aria crying but I was already soothing her back to sleep and by the time my mom had entered the room, Aria was sleeping peacefully in my arms.

I was pulled from my memories as Aria giggled and started messing with my hair. I, in turn, began to stroke my fingers through her light brown hair, gently tugging out any snarls or knots. "Damon, you're getting a new friend?" she asked curiously.

I didn't answer right away and stalled as I quietly greeted my other siblings with a smile.

Elizabeth, or Liz as she preferred, was fifteen and already engaged to the Prince of Italy and they were set to be married a couple weeks after her sixteenth birthday–which was approaching far more quickly than I was prepared for. Liz and the prince had met at a business party in Italy and had hit it off so our parents had arranged for them to be together and thus far things seemed to be going pretty well between the two. Liz had grown up so far to look just like our mother did–yes, I'd compared her to some old photos and it was shocking sometimes to see all of the similarities. She was good at socializing and had managed to throw a huge party for the Germans, securing them as an ally by charming their pants off as well as managing to seal a deal with the British where we got more money for weapons than they were actually worth.

Liz's twin, James, was younger than her by a few minutes and was currently going through a growth spurt and–though he was still several inches shorter than I am–he had managed to catch up with Liz and was now about the same height as his twin. He had strawberry blond hair and bright brown eyes that made him look continuously innocent even though he was far from it for a boy his age. He liked to play pranks and mess around at parties, always making people laugh even if it was at his own expense.

Then there was my youngest little brother, Mason. He followed in our father in regards to his physical appearance with light brown hair and eyes and he was ten years old. He was rather quiet and preferred to spend time reading and composing music. Though Mom tried to make him play classical, he favored the guitar and always managed to play something during our parties–even if our parents didn't want him to. Mason had dark brown hair and blue eyes–similar to my own–and I loved him to bits and pieces because of his ability to empathize with almost anyone. He was pretty smart for his age and sometimes his words portrayed a wisdom that was seldom found in such a young boy.

Aria pulled at my hair a little to grab my attention again and I tickled her in retaliation. She giggled as I nodded to answer her question.

"Yes, Aria, I'm getting a new friend. But she's going to be special and I'm going to marry her when I meet her."

"Oh, like the story Mommy read to me…Cinderella?"

I chuckled but nodded. "Yes, exactly like Cinderella."

"Can I meet her?" she asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"Not yet, but as soon as I find her you can."

"She's missing?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, but I have to meet her and find her first. Remember how Cinderella ran away from the prince?" She nodded and I continued, "It's like that but I have to meet her first and then I have to make sure she doesn't run away from me like Cinderella ran away from the prince."

Seemingly satisfied with my answers, Aria relaxed into my lap and began messing with the pen that I had been writing with.

James sat down on the floor in front of me and raised a brow. "Cinderella, huh?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess."

Liz rolled her eyes at her twin and leaned against the edge of my desk. "Seriously, Damon, how are you dealing with all of this? Are you nervous?"

I thought for a moment and then nodded. "A little. I mean, I am going to pick my wife out of only thirty five girls and what if I don't connect with any of them? What if none of them like me? Even if they do like me, what happens if I don't think that I can be happy with any of them?" I lied smoothly, I was really only antsy about having to wait so long for the Selection to end. I wanted to marry Grace as soon as possible but now I would be forced to wait for a few months and I wasn't happy about it. Hopefully my impatience would pass off as nerves.

Liz rolled her eyes in my direction, easily believing what I'd told her. "Seriously, Damon? Not all girls are snarling beasts with horns on top of their heads. I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine. All of those girls will love you and I have no doubt that you'll be able to find at least one girl who you'll be able to live with for the rest of your life. I mean, look at mom and dad, they're perfectly happy with how things turned out and they met through the Selection."

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, it was true that our parents had met through the Selection but they'd never really told us much beyond that. Every time that I'd asked about their Selection, they'd always divert my attention or simply state that they'd tell me when I was older. I just assumed it was a boring story and didn't bother to ask about it too often since they both seemed so hesitant to tell me anything about it.

"So what did Mom and Dad talk to you about anyway?" James asked quietly.

"Just some stuff about the Selection, generally telling me that we'll start the competition soon and that I'd better be ready to settle down and make some serious decisions."

Mason looked at me from his position on the floor next to James. "When will the competition start?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. It'll probably be pretty soon but we didn't really discuss any of those aspects of the Selection."

"Are you excited that it's finally around the corner?" James asked curiously.

I smirked. "Yeah, a little. I'm excited to finally get a wife and I'm excited that I'll soon be running the country and taking care of our people the way that Dad expects me to but I'm also a little nervous about the whole process."

A guard knocked on the wall and I turned to face him since the door was still open. "Yes?" I asked.

"You are needed in the King's office for a meeting, Sir."

I sighed and kissed Aria's forehead before nodding to the guard. "I'll be down in a moment, thank you."

I picked Aria up and set her on the floor as the soldier left. I pushed my chair away and grabbed my coat and adjusted my tie. "All right, I'll talk to you guys a little bit more later. Unfortunately, I now have a meeting to attend. See you at dinner, hopefully."

With that, I left my siblings behind and began the walk to my father's office.

The Selection hadn't even begun yet and I was already exhausted. I had no idea how I would balance my schedule with how chaotic things had been lately.

The competition couldn't begin, or end, soon enough.

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**Okay, so the next few chapters are going to be mostly fillers, giving general background information about the story. I am currently working on writing the outline for Chapter 5 and the story should begin to pick up a little bit after that so please stick around! Thank you for reading everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long to get out; life has just been crazy for me lately. Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit shorter than normal but we're almost to the Selection where the real story will finally begin. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and thank you all for being so patient with me, I'll try my best to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.**

**Once again, sorry for the grammatical errors, they are all my own though I've tried to correct any that I saw there will still be some in there...**

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_A few weeks later…_

Today was the day. I would finally see which girls would be entered in the Selection. I was nervous as hell.

It felt like it was only yesterday that my parents and I had discussed putting Grace into the Selection. My dad had guaranteed that Grace would be entered as a contestant but there was a small sliver of doubt in my mind. What if Grace was not actually drawn? What would happen if she was not put into the Selection?

What would happen if–

"Your Majesty?" a maid asked softly, pulling from my dubious thoughts. Her eyes were directed at the floor and she was shaking slightly, as though terrified to speak to me.

I gave her a small smile to ease her obvious nervousness, though she probably couldn't see it because she was still staring at the ground. "Yes?"

"It is time for the Report, Sir."

I nodded and thanked her before rushing to meet my parents–there could be no more what ifs, it was time.

I entered the room and kissed my mom's cheek before settling into my chair.

Gavril grinned at me and gave me a small thumbs-up for encouragement. I was going to miss the old man. Soon his son would be taking over his position so that Gavril could retire and spend the rest of his life in comfort next to his wife in their home.

I liked Gavril's son just fine, but I would miss Gavril a lot. He was a good friend of mine and had been in my life for a really long time; I was going to miss how he always comforted me before the Report and miss his friendship because over the years we had grown close.

The man behind the camera gave the signal and Gavril shot a genuine smile toward the camera, his charisma coming forth and making itself known with the confident joyfulness that he exerted.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Illea." He started going over some formalities, getting the important news about our society out of the way before turning into the subject that everyone was surely eager to hear about. "We have a very special event today. Our gracious Prince Damon has finally come of age and now it is time to start the Selection so that we can find our future Queen of Illea and the future wife of the beloved Prince Damon who will soon be taking the crown from his father."

Gavril walked over to me. "How are you this evening, Prince Damon?"

I grinned at him and chuckled softly–he always did stuff like this to surprise me. "I'm excited Gavril."

"Hmm, anxious to see the lovely girls who will soon be in your life and trying to win your heart?"

I chuckled again but nodded in response to confirm his statement. "Yes, Gavril, I am. I'm excited to see all of the young ladies who I will have the pleasure of meeting very soon."

Gavril shot me a wink before moving on to my dad. "What about you, _Maxon_, what's going through your head right now?"

My dad chuckled and shook his head at Gavril while grabbing my mother's hand as she smirked in his direction. "I just hope that Prince Damon will be able to find a wife whom he loves. There is nothing else that I can hope for my son to have, I hope that he'll be able to find his soul mate just as I have found mine."

Gavril nodded and moved on to my mom. "Queen America, any advice that you'd like to pass on to any of the Selected tonight?"

"Honesty is the best policy, ladies. Be honest and remain true to yourself. Your life will be changing forever after tonight." my mom said with a small smile on the face while looking directly in the camera.

"Excellent advice, Your Majesty." Gavril returned to the front of the room and began to slowly list off the names of those who were in the Selection.

When I was very young, there had been a caste system in which each person was assigned a number based on their social status. However, my father had that system destroyed by the time I was two so I never had experienced a life with castes. My parents explained the system to me one evening and described how horrible it was for most of the population.

In my parent's Selection, there had been castes and they'd somehow found their way to each other though–from what I'd heard around the castle sometimes–the odds had been drastically stacked against them. In previous years, it had been customary for the castes of each of the Selected to be read. But since the castes were no longer set in place, my father and Gavril had decided that their form of employment would suffice.

I managed to smile at each of the girl's names that were read and control my face into a happy mask as each of their pictures was displayed. I noticed that there were a few government workers, one or two farmers, and a majority of unemployed girls who were too young to work yet.

Soon, all of the names and faces began to blur together and I became tense as Gavril quickly read through the list. My heart was beating uncontrollably fast when I realized that there was only one girl left and Grace's name had not yet been called. I managed to keep the smile on my face but I was sweating with nervousness.

Before I could begin to completely panic, Gavril looked directly into the camera and continued. "Grace Williams of Angeles. Maid."

I almost sagged into my chair as relief swept through my body and settled into my bones once her name was read. The rest of Gavril's speech was lost in the roar of my blood as my heart beat frantically in my chest. Thank God.

Grace would be in the Selection and in about two months she would be my wife, of that I was absolutely certain.

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**Next chapter: we meet the girls for breakfast. After that, the real fun can begin! Thank you again for reading!**

**Here's a sneak peak, since it'll probably be awhile before I actually post the next chapter (it still needs to be edited so please bear with me for the time being):**

_A few of them began to cry and I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. Many of them just seemed angry though and I could see the red slowly creeping up their necks and onto their faces to form furious blushes. I was slightly grateful for the angry ones–I could handle angry women, but I simply didn't have any clue about comforting a crying girl._

_I dismissed the cameras as quickly as possible and then turned back toward the girls. I was met with a solid fist to my face–or to my eye to be more exact._

_I stumbled but blocked the next punch before it could make contact. I pushed the girl who had hit me away gently and winced as I felt my face begin to throb..._

**Seems like a few of the girls will be a bit feisty. Until next time :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I once again apologize for taking so long to update, I hope most of you can forgive me! **

**We're skipping ahead another few weeks in the story…**

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I sat calmly at a couch on the side of the room, waiting for the girls to enter. I kept a mask on my face so that my nerves weren't apparent. I was somewhat anxious for this to be over with. I was excited to meet the girls and to see Grace in a dress but I was starving and eager to have breakfast.

When the door opened, I stood and began striding towards it.

"All right ladies, this way." Jane, the palace event coordinator, directed.

I smiled politely when the girls began to file into the room. My grin widened when I heard a few giggles and became almost painful when I saw Grace.

She looked beautiful in her dress but there was a small frown on her face, as though something had displeased her. I wanted to know what was wrong but I couldn't show any of my curiosity because–as far as anyone else was concerned–Grace and I did not know each other.

I bowed to all of them after they curtsied and asked them to have a seat at the tables that had been prepared for them.

Once they were seated, I walked to the head of the table so that they would all be able to see me as I explained things. "Welcome, ladies. I'm excited to meet all of you this morning. I'd like to spend a little time with each of you before breakfast so I hope you don't mind waiting for a little while." I turned to the girl closest to me and offered my hand. She giggled rather obnoxiously and I suppressed the urge I had to roll my eyes when she covered her mouth and resembled a cartoon character.

Several of the girls that began making their way to me didn't have any character; I was fairly convinced that the only thing in their heads was air. Those girls tended to simply laugh at whatever I said, lean forward, and twirl a piece of hair in between two fingers. Occasionally they would make a comment, but it always pertained to either my looks or how _hil_arious I was.

There were a few exceptions, however, that actually made an actual attempt and seemed more down-to-earth than the other girls.

Ruby, in particular, scared me slightly. She was very serious and quiet, only nodding when I dismissed her. She set my nerves on edge but at least she hadn't tried to throw herself at me like some of the others.

Then there was Falia, though she apparently preferred Alex, a shortened version of her middle name. Star, Lavender, Lindsey,–who I felt would soon become good friends with Ruby as she reminded me of Ruby in many ways–Amy, Lana, Bianca, Eleanor, Johanna, Agnes, Marita, Maya, Althea, Emily, Teresa, Danielle, and Wren.

Wren was an interesting girl, she was tall and thin with ebony hair that flowed down to her upper back in gentle waves, cloudy gray eyes, and pale skin. She was also deaf. Thankfully, I had learned sign language from Justice so I could easily communicate with her, though she was quite adept at reading lips and could communicate just fine with words of her own. She intrigued me and although for the most part she didn't speak, she had plenty to say with her hands. I was definitely intrigued by her and she seemed friendly enough.

Danielle–or Dani–was friendly and exuberant. She was rather quiet as well but she seemed to care a great deal about each word said. It seemed as though each word spoken meant a great deal to her. She was pretty in her own right though her looks were rather similar to Wren's, it was almost uncanny. She also had a pale complexion, gray eyes, and wavy ebony hair which stopped just above her waist. She was somewhat short and petite, the top of her head about even with my chest though I suppose I was taller than most boys so what did I know.

Finally though, Grace settled herself across from me on the couch. I had to stop myself from embracing her. She was beautiful in her dress, it flowed around her elegantly, more complementary to her figure than those horrid maid outfits.

"Hello, Grace." I said softly.

She smiled and fidgeted in her seat a little. "I can't believe I'm finally here, it's surreal Damon."

I chuckled. "You have no idea. You look amazing, by the way. The dress suits you." I eyed her from head to toe yet again, stopping at the spots where the dress was a little tighter.

When I finally looked up again, she was blushing and I merely grinned. Then, I became gravely serious. "Are you okay; you seemed a little upset earlier?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, Damon."

"Are you su–"

"Yes, Damon," she interrupted, "I'm fine."

I sighed and shook my head but moved on, hoping to lighten the tense atmosphere around us.

I began joking around and we settled into our normal teasing conversation, making fun of each other and reminiscing past events.

After a while, I risked a glance at the clock and stood despondently, it was time for us to part ways. I bowed when she stood. She curtsied and I kissed her hand before dismissing her to the table.

I met several other girls after Grace but almost immediately forgot their names because of the rhythm of my heart pounding in my chest after my talk with Grace. She was right; it was surreal to have her in the Selection.

After meeting all of the girls, I was hungry and somewhat pleased at all of the new people I had met. Maybe I'd be able to become friends with a few of them. However, there was also more than a few who I would never befriend, they were simply too forward in their advances and too self-absorbed to have any depth to their personalities.

After the final girl was seated, I stood and used a trick that my dad had told me about. "Ladies, if I asked for you to remain here then please stay in your seats. The rest of you may follow Jane to the dining room."

Nineteen of the girls stood and left with Jane–Sylvia's daughter and replacement in-training–to the dining room. Sixteen girls remained in the room with me.

I sighed as soon as the doors were closed and the cameras focused on me. This was going to be difficult to accomplish.

I forced a small, polite smile on my face as I turned to face the girls. "Ladies, I am so grateful to have met you all. It has truly been an honor." A few of them blushed at that but most simply grinned and "discreetly" adjusted their dresses to show more cleavage.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at their antics. "However, I simply do not feel that we have any chemistry. It is for this reason that I must sadly inform you that you have been eliminated. I feel that it would be a waste of time for all of you lovely women to remain here if I cannot see a future with any of you. Please, pack your things and prepare to leave. The chef has made something for all of you to eat which you will receive at the airport."

A few of them began to cry as soon as I finished my little speech and I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. Many of them just seemed angry though and I could see the red slowly creeping up their necks and onto their faces to form furious blushes. I was slightly grateful for the angry ones–I could handle angry women, but I simply didn't have any clue about how to comfort a crying girl.

I dismissed the cameras as quickly as possible and then turned back toward the girls. I was met with a solid fist to my face–or to my eye to be more exact.

I stumbled but blocked the next punch before it could make contact. I pushed the girl who had hit me away gently and winced as I felt my face begin to throb–hopefully I wouldn't end up with a black eye.

She went for me again but I grabbed her wrist and spun her around, holding her arm against her back. "Will you please stop hitting me?" I asked. I had been raised to not mistreat women but if she kept trying to hit me I would eventually be forced to hit back.

After a moment she nodded and I released her.

"Now, I won't tell anyone of this because I know you're upset but if any of you attempt to strike me again, I will call the guards, and you will be tried for treason and assault."

They all nodded gravely in understanding but the girl who had hit me simply snickered. I sighed and then allowed them to verbally abuse me for ten minutes or so. After the ten minutes were up, I apologized once again and backed out of the room so that I could get to the infirmary.

I strode through the doors of the infirmary and quickly went to the mini-freezer in the corner of the room. I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and put it over my eye, wincing at the burn of my skin due to the cold temperature.

A doctor seemed to materialize beside me and quickly removed the ice pack to survey the damage done to my face.

She gently prodded before reapplying the ice pack. "It's going to turn into one nasty bruise, Your Highness. How did it happen?" She walked over to a drawer a few feet away and began rummaging through the contents.

"I was sparring with a guard. I went to dodge but ended up basically offering my face to him instead." I chuckled as I lied to make it a little more convincing. "It was entirely my fault."

She seemed to believe my story and nodded as she handed me two pills. "It'll take a couple weeks for that to heal up. You'll have to cover it up for the Report, most likely." She gave me a bottle of water. "Take the pills; it will help with some of the swelling and the pain"

I nodded and quickly swallowed the two pills with a gulp of water. "Any advice to make it heal any faster?"

She smiled gently at me. "Lots of ice and no more sparring, ever?"

I smirked at her. "I can do the first, never going to happen for the second."

She laughed at that but shook her head at me in slight disappointment. "Prince Damon, sometimes it seems that you're more trouble than you're worth."

"Aw, come on. You all love me and you know it. Especially since I'm always giving you an excuse to buy more medical stuff." I grinned at her. "Besides, what's not to like about this?" I asked, gesturing to my body.

She rolled her eyes. "Just keep the ice on it and you'll be fine. Now get out of here." She shooed me mockingly and went back to work.

When I caught her eye, I saluted mockingly and walked out of the infirmary with a chuckle.

The Selection had _finally_ begun.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who submitted a character. We will learn more about the ladies mentioned in this chapter later, I simply couldn't introduce all of them in this chapter because it would make it ridiculously long and boring. The characters I used, and will explain in more detail in future chapters, belong to the following fanfiction users:**

**DancinAllNight – Falia (Alex), Maya**

**M7star – Star**

**Cute Irish Gal – Ruby**

**Lilythemermaid – Lavender**

**america (guest) – Lindsey (this character was originally named Elizabeth but I had to change it because Damon's sister had the same name, hope that was okay with you america!)**

**Who cares (guest) – Amy**

**EmilyTheNerd – Lana**

**Pipper Pippens – Bianca**

**S (guest) – Eleanor**

**New Asian Gal (guest) – Johanna**

**Guest (guest) – Agnes**

**GloryToTheWind – Marita**

**angelisegaudet – Althea**

**Random (guest) – Emily**

**MusicManiac (guest) - Teresa**

** olive . ivy . clo (remove spaces for this username) – Danielle (Dani), Wren**

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

My dad snorted. "A girl gave you a black eye?"

I shrugged. "She was strong. Is it black already?"

"Yes, dear." Mom confirmed with a nod.

Dad chuckled and my mom jabbed him in the side quickly which stopped his laughter.

"Don't start with me, Maxon." she warned.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, _my_ _dear_."

**I'm still working on the next chapter so it will most likely be a while before I'm able to get it out to you guys. Thankfully, I have a break coming up in about a month or so, so I might be able to post a few chapters during that time. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for not posting this chapter sooner guys! I've been really sick these past few weeks, but thankfully I finally have some medicine and I'm getting a little better every day. Anyway, this chapter is mostly a filler, but next chapter we'll get to something a little more exciting. Thank you to everyone again for reading!**

* * *

_Thud._

The ice pack fell loudly into the trash rather loudly, causing the entire dining room to look in my direction.

The girls quickly stood and curtsied and I smiled at them gently–ignoring the pain it caused for my skin to stretch the way that it did–and told them to sit. "If you're finished, you may go. I hope to get to know you all better soon.

They all nodded and stood to leave.

"Oh, Grace?" I called out.

Thankfully, she was the closest girl to me and I could see her nametag so my motives would not be questioned. She turned toward me fully with a small smirk touching the corner of her lips. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Would you join me for a walk tomorrow?"

She beamed, a smug look residing on her face. "Of course."

I smiled at her before she left and settled into my seat once the door was shut.

"What kept you?" Mom asked quietly, keeping her voice low enough so that none of the maids or butlers would hear our conversation.

I sighed and rubbed the skin under my eye softly, wincing slightly when it throbbed. "One of the girls that I sent home had a strong arm that she wanted to demonstrate to me before leaving."

My dad snorted. "A girl gave you a black eye?"

I shrugged. "She was strong. Is it black already?"

"Yes, dear." Mom confirmed with a nod.

Dad chuckled and my mom jabbed him in the side quickly which stopped his laughter.

"Don't start with me, Maxon." she warned.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, _my_ _dear_."

"So," I began, wanting to change the subject. "Where is everyone else? I thought they would be here to meet the girls, they've only been bugging me about it since they could talk." I added the last part with a sarcastic snort but I really was curious. It was strange that my siblings weren't here to meet the girls–one of who would soon be my wife.

Mom shrugged. "I asked them to eat in their rooms this morning. I didn't want to overwhelm the poor girls on their first real day here."

"Yeah, it was probably for the best." I shook my head at the thought of unleashing my siblings on the girls.

"You should spend some time with them before you have to start speed dating." Mom suggested.

"Speed dating?"

In two weeks, those girls will be interviewed on the Report and Gavril will ask what you've done with them. If they say 'nothing' you'll seem neglectful and unorganized." Dad explained.

I sighed and picked at the cold food on my plate, the enticing aroma of it long gone. "This whole competition is a lot more stressful than I originally thought."

"Just wait until you narrow it down to five, not only will the press be going crazy but our advisors will be trying to push you to marry a girl of their choice so that they can get an advantage."

I scrubbed my hands down my face. "This process seems like…just –" I sighed, at a complete loss of words.

"I know, son. I know." Dad replied. "How 'bout tonight we all get together as a family and relax. It'll be nice for it to just be us for one last time."

My mom nodded and I quickly agreed before my dad left to take care of some private business that I was not a part of.

I finished my breakfast in silence, swallowing down the cold lumps of the food as my fork brushed continuously against the plate.

When I finished, a maid removed my plate and I put my elbows on the table, resting my head in my hands.

"After you talk with your brothers and sisters, I want you to train with Justice." my mom demanded firmly.

I sighed but nodded and stood. The sooner I talked with my siblings, the sooner my beating at the hands of the man I considered my uncle would be over.

* * *

**One Week Later**

I had gone on dates with all of the girls in the palace and most–with the glaring exception of Lindsey and Ruby–were polite, well-mannered girls.

I felt especially attached to Wren and Dani; they were both lovely and respectful. I enjoyed the silence Wren could provide and her understanding nature allowed for easy conversation if we felt like talking–though most of our conversations were expressed with our hands rather than words. Dani's happy nature, while slightly exhausting, was welcome after long, hard days at work.

Of course, I went on many dates with the other girls in the Selection as well so that they would have something to talk about on the Report when the time came.

Alex was reserved but I found that the more time I spent with her, the more she began to open up to me. Underneath the tough, slightly depressed exterior Alex had proven to be caring and accepted my flaws easily. She was quickly becoming a welcome friend.

Star had proven to be very, very quiet and reserved but I had quickly discovered her love for animals when we'd been walking around the palace and we'd discovered a small injured bird. Star had fallen in love with the baby almost as soon as she saw it and quickly ended our date so that she could nurse it back to health. Unfortunately, the little bird was too far gone and died a few days later despite her desperate attempts to save its life. After seeing how upset she was with the loss of life, I gained a new perspective on the value of living things. Everything alive deserved a shot at life and their lives should not be ended for something petty like hunting for sport–something I'd been doing for years but almost immediately stopped after the bird's death. Seeing Star care so much for something most would simply disregard had really changed me, I'd even gone as far as to hire a few more veterinarians around the palace so that our animals would be well taken care of.

Eleanor was mostly silent at first but after two dates, she had begun to speak up. She was actually quite comical at times and was very open about her life. She was a pretty good fighter and I'd even sparred with her a few times–with safety equipment of course–and we'd both taught each other some new techniques. She also cared a great deal about her family and though she missed them she told me she was happy to stay here, especially since we had a few old computers that I had allowed her to tinker with. She liked the challenge of repairing the complex machines for some reason and on one of our dates I simply watched as she was working over one of them. She had actually got it running for a few minutes before it shut down, she said something about a burnt microchip. It was actually interesting to see her work; she got a deep look of concentration on her face when tinkering with the computer.

Grace and I had also had a few dates, we mostly discussed past events and reminisced though there was plenty make-out sessions as well. She was still upset about my dating the other girls but she knew it was necessary and I always promised her that after two months she would be my wife. We only had about seven weeks left, forty nine days until she officially became mine in every way.

I'd begun to notice that my father was progressively giving me more work, though he always helped me when necessary and let me learn from my mistakes by correcting them and explaining why certain aspects had to be changed in plans that I made.

The work load had increased exponentially for me, especially when compared to the amount I'd had to do two years ago but I understood the need for me to accept more responsibility. I would be a king almost as soon as the Selection ended so that my father could step down and retire with my mother.

I was excited to take the next steps in my life, but I was also terrified. I was ready to become a king and I was ready to marry Grace so we could start our life together but I was scared about messing up. My father had infinitely more experience than I did, how would I be able to run the country as well as he had? He had done so many amazing things for our people; there was simply no way for me to ever measure up to his standard, especially not in the eyes of the people.

I sighed and rubbed my temples gently as I sat on the edge of my bed. Everything was simply a jumbled mess right now, but I had to get ready for my future. Every citizen in our country was counting on me to be prepared to rule, as was my family.

I opened the door after someone knocked on it and had to hold back another sigh when I saw a guard.

He bowed. "Sire, King Maxon requests for you to join him in his study."

I nodded and put on my coat. "Thank you, I'll leave immediately."

He bowed again and left.

I collected myself, straightened my tie, and went to join my father.


	6. Chapter 6

**To show you guys how sorry I am for not posting more often, I've decided to do a triple post today. The next chapter ends in a little cliff-hanger but I hope to get the most recent chapter out to you guys soon. **

**Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed, or read my stories. I truly appreciate the enthusiasm you guys have shown me, you give me the motivation to write and I'm so happy that most of you have enjoyed taking this crazy ride with me. Keep being the awesome people that I know all of you are.**

* * *

_Clash, clang, clang!_

The reverberating echo of metal against metal sounded through the room. Justice and I had been fighting for about an hour and I was starting to sweat.

Damn old man just wouldn't quit.

I breathed slowly and deeply even as my heart pounded in my chest, mimicking the rhythmic slap of my feet on the hardwood floors. Sweat dribbled slowly down the side of my face and chest as I dodged all of his attacks and countered with my own.

Eventually, I managed to relieve him of his sword and he threw himself at me, bringing us both down to the floor.

My sword slid across the room as we began to grapple, each of us trying to gain an advantage over the other. I wrapped my legs around his waist and quickly got on top of him. I threw a quick succession of punches before he could cover himself.

After a few minutes, we began to roll once again and he jumped off of me.

I took a deep breath and matched his steps as we started circling one another.

Too late, I realized what he was doing.

I lunged as soon as he grabbed the sword from the floor. However, I wasn't fast enough and the tip was quickly pointed to my throat, right on top of a vein.

I sighed and backed off, "All right, you win this round old man."

He scowled at me. "You should know better by now, Damon. Always be aware of your surroundings."

I sighed and rolled my shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tense muscles. "I know, I'm just distracted today. A lot's been going on."

"Yeah, that much is obvious." Justice snorted and walked over to the cooler. "Water?"

I nodded and he threw one to me.

"So, talk to me kid. What's been going on?"

I sat on the floor and Justice joined me, waiting patiently for me to explain. "I feel guilty." I stated simply after about a minute of trying to collect my jumbled thoughts.

"For what?"

I shrugged. "Everything, I suppose."

"Kid," he laughed, "you'll have to give me a few more details than that."

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked, avoiding his question with one of my own.

He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had never gotten rid of. He contemplated his answer before sighing and replying, "Yeah, once."

I froze. He wasn't married and he didn't have any children. "What happened? Who is she?"

"Her name, for a long time, was Jessica."

I raised a brow, wanting him to continue. I didn't know anyone by that name, surely I would have known if Justice had been in love with someone. Perhaps he'd met her before he came to the castle to serve in the military.

He chuckled. "Ask your mom about her past and then I'll tell you more."

"She knew Jessica?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Well, you know I've started me Selection…but the competition isn't exactly fair." I didn't wait for his response before continuing, "I love a girl in it, I've loved her for years."

"Really?" he asked, clearly surprised.

I nodded. "It's more complicated than you think." I explained my relationship with Grace to him and then drifted off into silence, waiting for his response.

"So, what do you feel guilty for?" he asked calmly.

"I don't know. Betraying her? I feel like I shouldn't even look at those other girls because I'm with her but I made a deal with my mom."

He sighed. "Then you aren't in love, kid." He shushed me and shook his head sternly when I tried to object. "Listen to me, okay? If you were in love with this girl, you wouldn't feel guilty. You'd feel secure in your relationship, enough to know that you wouldn't have any reason to feel guilty because you will only ever be friends with those other girls. And if she loved you, she'd understand that she'd have to wait and she'd trust you to not do anything with any of them. I somehow doubt that you are feeling guilty without your girlfriend yelling at you."

I sighed, Grace and I had been arguing a little more lately. She wanted me to end the competition so that we could be together, she said she was "sick of waiting" for me. I'd explained things to her numerous times and tried to remain rational, but sometimes I would lose my temper and end up yelling at her as she yelled at me as well. Sometimes I was surprised that no one had yet to comment on our arguments as we usually got pretty loud and she'd even thrown a lamp at me once-that had been a hard one to explain to my parents though they accepted the lame excuse I had given them.

Justice scrubbed a hand down his face. "You don't even have to kiss any of them or anything like that after all. And love…love is a lot more complicated than you think. You wouldn't feel any guilt because you wouldn't think it'd be necessary. Love turns men into women. Love will ruin you for any other girl out there. You'll only be able to think of that one girl and nothing else will seem as significant as she is. You'd lay down your life in order to save hers. Love is wanting to know everything about a girl without getting physical and still enjoying it just as much. It's imagining waking up next to her every morning…imagining her belly growing with your child inside of her. Love is overwhelming and all-consuming and once you find the girl you love, you won't let her go for anything."

"But I do love Grace."

Justice sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. "What would you say if she told you she was pregnant with another man's child?"

My face must have conveyed the disgust and fear rolling in the pit of my stomach because he chuckled. "Exactly, kid. When you fall in love, you'll accept her and anything that is a part of her. You'd love any of her children, even if they weren't yours, because they came from her."

"So what do you think I should do?" I sighed, trying to gather all of my thoughts and process all of the new information I'd just heard.

"Date the other girls. Take it seriously, too. If you really love that girl, you will realize the true depth of your feelings for her eventually. Dating other women will just help you realize how you really feel. You'll either completely fall in love with Grace or you'll discover something terrifyingly new and exhilarating with someone else. Just follow what your heart says and don't shy away from your emotions."

I raked a hand through my hair as my mind tried to catch up with all of the things Justice had just told me. He made it seem like I wouldn't have a choice in who I fell in love with and that really scared me. What would happen if I did fall in love with one of the other girls in the competition? Could I do that to Grace?

"Look," Justice said calmly while laying a palm on my shoulder in a comforting gesture, "just take a couple days to think things over and maybe suggest taking a break with your girlfriend so that you can truly devote yourself to the spirit of the Selection."

I nodded. "Thank you, Uncle. For everything."

He smiled and nodded. "No problem."

I stood and he followed suit. I gave him a hug. "You're like family, Justice. Seriously, thank you for the advice."

He chuckled and stepped back. "While you're like a son to me, we really should go to dinner, it's getting late. Besides, I'm sure those lovely ladies are waiting for your arrival."

I glanced at the clock and was shocked at how much time had passed. "I suppose you're right."

As we began walking to the dining room–Justice insisting that he see me to the door–we dropped the heavy subject in favor of discussing some new battle strategies Justice had come up with. One of them seemed particularly interesting and I started to ask more about it when the alarm started screeching throughout the halls.


	7. Chapter 7

**Adult language will be used in this chapter and the following chapters as well, I will post a warning above each chapter if the language used becomes too explicit. I recommend to read only if 13 years or older for this chapter and the following chapters. If you are younger than 13 and would like the chapter overview for any chapter you don't want to read, please just send me a message and I would be happy to provide you with an overview for any chapter that you would like to read.**

**Thank you for continually supporting this story again, guys. Happy reading!**

* * *

"Shit." Justice cursed as he drew his gun and handed me a dagger.

Without a word, we both began to run toward the dining hall. If the alarm had already been tripped then the rebels were close and everyone would most likely be locked inside by now.

When we reached the door, Justice yanked on the handle but it was locked. He cursed and began banging on the door quickly before pausing and tapping once more much more gently.

I turned to keep watch and whispered a curse before tapping Justice on the arm. "They're here." I said as I watched the three rebels dashing toward us.

Justice shook his head and turned before sprinting over to meet them.

I was about to follow when the door opened and a soldier yanked me inside.

"Let me go, asshole!" I demanded as I heard a few shots go off.

My mom ran over–dressed in pants, a tank top, and a hat. What the hell?

"Release him." she snapped, her voice hard and low, and the guard instantly dropped me.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me behind her. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"America!" my dad yelled as she ran through the doors.

I didn't think twice as I slipped past the doors before the guards could shut them. My dad shouted for me as well but I didn't dare turn back.

What the hell was my mom thinking? She hadn't been trained to fight; she'd be killed in a heartbeat. I followed the sounds of grunts around a corner and froze at what I saw.

My mom flipped and delivered a firm roundhouse kick to a rebel's chest, causing him to collapse and tackled the men behind him.

She then drove a sword through his chest and moved on to the next one without so much as batting an eye at the fact that she'd just killed a man and that blood stained her hands and clothes.

Justice lay face-down on the ground, a small pool of blood quickly growing beneath him.

I gritted my teeth and pushed past my shock to join the fight. I had to help my mom kill the rest of the men so that we could help Justice.

Though I only had a dagger, I managed to kill three men while my mom finished off the remaining four.

Once all of the rebels were dead, I panted heavily while leaning over. My adrenaline was still running high and my lungs ached for more oxygen, though I was careful to only breathe through my mouth to avoid the metallic smell of the blood which stained nearly every inch of the carpet beneath my feet.

I turned to my mom for an explanation but she was already kneeling over Justice. I rushed over and kneeled on the opposite side of his body, assessing the damage as quickly as I could.

"Help me turn him over." she demanded.

I quickly followed orders, turning him onto his side so that he wouldn't choke on his own blood. I let out a breath of relief when I saw the slightly labored rise and fall of his chest, but winced when I saw the cut that ran deep into his leg and the open bullet wounds on the rest of his body. The bullet wounds were the part I was most worried about–if one had hit his spine then the fragments could cause further damage and he could be dead before we got him help.

To my shock, my mom pulled out a needle and plunged it firmly into his leg, right beside the cut, and pressed down on the plunger to disperse its contents into Justice's body.

She then lowered her face to his and screamed, "Up soldier."

Justice lurched upright and groaned but got to his feet quickly, standing as straight as a damn rod.

"Come on, we have to get to the dining room. Protect Damon at all costs." she snapped. Then, she turned to me, a fire burning in her eyes brighter than any I'd ever seen. "You will follow orders; you will stay behind me and ahead of Justice. You will be the first to enter the dining room. Am I understood?"

I nodded, shrinking back slightly in fear of the woman before me, the woman who had a demanding presence and who radiated knowledge and strength.

"Move out."

She led the way and I was quick to follow, Justice taking up the rear of our little group though he seemed to be struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

We reached the dining room and were let in this time without any incident.

As soon as we entered the room, Grace threw herself into my arms and I stumbled but caught her nonetheless.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Justice's eyes roll back and watched as he collapsed onto the floor.

I pushed Grace away from me and rushed to his side. I checked his pulse and relaxed when I felt his skin throb gently against my fingertips.

My mom kneeled next to him and ripped off her shirt. Using her sword, she cut the shirt into thin strips and began tying them around the cut on his leg firmly, her hands never faulting in their movements. Once his leg was covered, she wrapped a few of the bullet wounds. Most remained uncovered but at least some of the blood had stopped flowing out of his body.

I quickly removed my coat and offered my shirt to her. She nodded in appreciation before cutting the shirt and repeating the process once more.

When she finished tying off his injuries, she grabbed a low stool and put his feet on it.

"That should hold him for a little while," she sighed, "but not forever."

She stood then and went over to one of the guards. I couldn't hear what was said but I froze when I saw the guard give her his weapons.

"Mom, what are you _doing_?" I asked.

She sighed and turned to me once I stood beside her. "He's not going to last throughout the attack if I don't go out there. He is the head of over a hundred men; they'll be lost without him. I need to get out there and take control of the situation before it gets any worse."

"But–"

"No. No but's. I'm going and you will stay right here with your siblings and the girls."

"Then let me come with you." my dad came up next to her, a desperation hidden in the depths of his eyes.

She shook her head. "No. This country still needs you, Maxon. It can survive without me. Besides, I need you to look after Justice."

"America, you promised."

She sighed. "I know I did. But unless Justice miraculously heals in the next minute, I have to go. Without one of us out there, our defenses will fail and there's a real chance that the rebels will succeed in their attempts this time. They've already gotten past the gates and are spreading out to the upper floors." She finished strapping weapons onto her body and clutched my dad's face.

They shared and intense stare and then kissed roughly for about ten seconds before my mom pulled away. "I'll be back before you know it, Maxon." she promised quietly.

Then her eyes hardened and the fire burned within them once again. She snapped at two guards by the doors to open them.

The guards did as she said without hesitation and she disappeared into the hall before they were shut.


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize for this being so late. Recently, my family has had some issues. My sister was raped and refuses to identify who it was, and my father's doctor prescribed him a drug which altered his mood and caused several problems for me and my family. Overall, things have just been an utter mess. I've been really struggling lately with all of the things that have been going on, I just feel lost and confused sometimes but I'm trying to work through all the drama so that I can get back to posting more often and get my life back to normal.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who has continued to read this story as I know it's been frustrating with the small number of updates that I've done.**

**I promise to finish this story eventually, but it might take a while especially with everything that's been going on. Now, on to chapter 8.**

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I watched silently as the guards locked the doors which my mom had just run out of.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration before kneeling next to Justice once more. His blood was already soaking through the makeshift bandages my mom had applied.

"Do we have a first-aid kit in here?" I asked a nearby guard.

He shook his head. "No, sir."

"Then you and your men better start stripping your shirts off." I sighed and stood, facing the soldiers in the room. "I want every undershirt in the room off right now and put in a pile beside me."

None of them made a move to undress.

"If you don't start stripping off those damn shirts in the next five seconds, I will have you all executed after the attack for defiance to a royal!" I shouted at them, keeping my voice low and threatening so that they wouldn't catch onto my bluff. I would never needlessly kill anyone but I needed them to act so that I could start treating Justice's wounds to the best of my abilities.

Almost immediately, all of the guards shed their coats and pulled off their white undershirts. They stacked the shirts in a messy pile beside me and I stole a dagger from one of them and began cutting the shirts into strips.

For the next two hours, I remained by Justice's side and refreshed his bandages when he bled through the previous ones.

Soon, the numerous strips of cloth ran out and he began to bleed through the last set.

I buried my head in my hands, fighting back desperate tears that wanted to escape my eyes. It wasn't going to be enough. I was already surprised that he hadn't bled out. The material of the shirts just wasn't thick enough to stop the bleeding long enough for his blood to clot.

He was going to die.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see Wren standing beside me.

"_He is dying?_" she signed and raised her brow in question.

I nodded and signed back. "_He is bleeding too much_."

She held out the skirt of her dress and pointed to my arm.

"What?" I asked aloud in confusion.

She rolled her eyes, grabbed my hand, and put it on the dagger beside me. "_Cut_." she signed and held her skirt out to me again. "_Save him, please_."

I stood and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips to express my gratitude for her kindness. "Thank you." I whispered and signed to her.

She nodded and gestured for me to hurry.

I didn't need to be told again and cut through the dress with the dagger, careful not to cut her as well. The material was a little harder to cut than the shirts I had used from the soldiers but hopefully that would mean that it would last longer.

I cut off most of the material but left enough to keep her essentials covered.

Once I finished, I cut the material into strips and reapplied them to Justice's wounds. The material appeared to be thicker than the flimsy shirts that the guards had provided and I was grateful when the bandages weren't ruined within five seconds.

I breathed a sigh of relief and stood next to her. I hugged her fiercely for a moment and then pulled back.

"_Thank you._" I signed again and then kissed her cheek. I took off the coat I was wearing and put it around her shoulders so that she was covered up a little more since her dress was now ruined.

She nodded and kissed my cheek as well. She gestured for the other girls to come over but none of them moved. Some of them even went as far as turning their heads, pretending that they hadn't noticed her gesture.

I scowled at them. While it was unlikely that I would need more material for a while it was extremely rude of them to ignore Wren, especially in a situation such as this. Though I couldn't blame the girls who were sleeping, those who were awake should have shown enough courtesy to at least acknowledge her request. If they had stood, I would have gestured for them to sit once again anyway but the total disregard they had shown Wren was something I would have to address with a few of them later.

I turned her attention back to me by gently nudging her chin with my hand.

"It will be enough, for now. I will ask them later if it is necessary."

She sighed but nodded. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

I offered her a weary smile and once again signed, "_Thank you._" I ushered her to sit down near the back of the room again as the guards seemed to be on edge with her so close to the door.

When I was sure that she was comfortable, I returned to Justice's side. I used the remaining cloth to reinforce Justice's bandages before once again sitting beside him and waiting for the red to come through.

Dad came over to me and kneeled down so that he could whisper. "Son, you need to get some rest."

I shook my head. I couldn't leave Justice while he was so vulnerable, especially since he could die any minute. I had to be able to take care of him should anything happen.

He sighed. "Just for an hour, you'll need your strength when those doors open. I assign one of the guards to watch over Justice. We'll wake you if anything happens."

I scrubbed a hand down my face and then raked it through my hair in frustration. "You're not going to let up on this, are you?"

He shook his head. "No."

I nodded with a sigh, giving in to his request. "Wake me up if _anything_ happens."

He smiled slightly and nodded.

I looked over Justice one last time before I stood and walked over to Wren. "_Can I sleep next to you?_" I signed.

She nodded and smiled, tapping the floor next to her.

I lowered myself to the ground and lay down next to her, making sure that we weren't touching so that I didn't touch her in an inappropriate manner because of her torn dress.

I shut my eyes but snapped them open when I felt fingers gently massage my scalp.

Wren raised her brow, silently asking if it was okay.

I considered it for a moment before nodding very slightly and shutting my eyes once more.

Her fingers began to work through my hair again, her nails gently scratching my scalp every once in a while. It was soothing and I was quickly surrounded by darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**There is strong language used in the chapter, including an "f-bomb" so read at your own risk. If you would like a summary of the chapter, then simply send me a message and I will be happy to summarize it for you.**

**This chapter wasn't edited so sorry for the mistakes!**

**Thank you all for being so patient with me. Things are still pretty chaotic but they're steadily getting better. Updates will still be rather sporadic but I hope to have this story finished before the New Year starts. Thank you again for your continuous support and thank you for reading!**

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"You're an idiot, America!" my father cursed, jerking me from the peaceful oblivion I'd been surrounded by.

My eyes snapped open and I was on my feet in the next second. I ran across the room toward my parents.

Mom was slumped in my father's arms, blood covering almost every inch of her. There weren't any visible cuts although blood was pouring from her abdomen in what appeared to be a gunshot wound and her shirt was in tatters.

I took a deep breath when I reached them and forced my worries to the back of my mind. I needed to focus and make sure my mom would survive.

"Lay her down next to Justice." I demanded, mentally preparing myself for anything that I might come across.

Dad settled her gently and I reached for the dagger I'd previously abandoned. I cut away her clothes even as a few guards left in search of a doctor.

"Dad, talk to her. Do _not _let her fall asleep." I ordered as I pulled every scrap of cloth off of her body.

I steeled myself before I began to assess her injuries. She had various cuts on her arms that were minor where the blood had already clotted to prevent further blood loss but she had two bullet wounds. The one that I'd seen earlier seemed like a clean wound, one which had only hit muscle and had gone through all the way. The other seemed a lot messier.

I glanced at my mother's face and sighed. "Mom, did the bullets go through?"

She shook her head. "The bullet is still in on my left side. Other one was clean." she slurred.

"Shit." I muttered softly.

"Do it," she muttered, "before the doctor gets here. I don't need another surgery."

I nodded my consent, although I knew it was going to be extremely painful. "Dad, I need you to hold her stomach down for me. The less she moves, the quicker I'll be able to get the bullet out."

He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to my mom's lips before he firmly pressed down on her skin–one hand at the center of her stomach and the other over her belly button.

She whimpered due to the pressure of my dad's hands so I knew that she would probably scream when I started digging into her flesh but there was nothing I could do to lessen her pain. Instead, I pulled off my belt and folded it before I placed it in her mouth so that she could bite down on the leather instead of her tongue.

She nodded for me to go ahead once she's adjusted the belt around in her mouth.

I quickly cut the wound open so that I could reach in to grab the bullet. I dug my fingers into her body, prodding as gently as I could as I searched for the bullet buried inside of her.

When my fingers were buried deep into her flesh, I finally felt it. I gripped the metal as best I could and began to pull it out. It slipped a few times as the blood that had coated the bullet made it rather slippery but I finally managed to pull it out completely.

Mom had only grunted a few times as she bit into the leather of my belt, although I didn't hear her scream around the material.

Once the bullet was out, I threw it across the room and out of sight. I resumed my examination and breathed a sigh of relief when I found no other major damage had been done to her body. She would need to rest for at least two weeks before she could start moving around again but she'd probably survive.

However, I still needed to make sure that nothing major had happened on her back. It was possible that she could have been shot from behind and not have felt it due to the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

With the assistance of a guard, we gently turned over her body.

"What the fuck?" I hissed when I saw the damage. Scars–several of them overlapping each other–grotesquely marred the skin of her back. But these wounds weren't new, no, these wounds had been accumulated over many years and they'd had time to heal and leave behind the scars which now decorated the skin of her back.

I turned my harsh gaze to my father. "You will explain this to me later."

He simply nodded with a resigned sigh.

I turned my attention back to my mother and continued searching for any additional wounds that she may have received from her battle.

Once certain that there was nothing too terrible, I quickly turned her back over. Overall her injuries were minor–save for the bullet wounds on her abdomen. For the most part, she would just have some major bruising and a few cuts here and there. My main concern now was stopping the blood from flowing out of her body so that it could clot properly. I also had to worry about what would happen if she went into shock, even if she wasn't showing any signs right now it was still possible for her heart to stop beating should she go into shock. I didn't know if her battered body would be able to survive the strain of going into shock.

"Someone see if there's anything with a lot of sugar in it nearby."

I turned my gaze to the girl closest to me and gestured for her to come over.

She obeyed and I sliced off strips of cloth from her dress.

I turned back to my mother and wrapped the strips around the worst of her injuries to help stop the blood flowing out of her body.

"How's Justice?" she asked quietly.

I glanced over to him before swinging my gaze back to her. "He's breathing and as stable as he can be for now."

She nodded. "Good work, Damon. I'm proud of you. You've obviously been paying attention during your sessions with Justice."

I just nodded as I sat back. "I suppose."

"Confused?" she asked gently.

"Extremely."

"I promise to explain everything soon."

"As long as you're actually around to explain it to me then that's fine." I offered her a small smile as the door burst open.

"We're clear." a guard stated as three doctors rushed in behind him.

I stepped away from my mom and explained her and Justice's injuries to them as best as I was able to.

They thanked me and quickly set to work over my family members.

Soon, the guards were picking them up and carrying them to the infirmary so that they could receive better care.

I shoved my dad toward the door after them. "Go, I'll take care of everything else here."

He gave me a grateful look before rushing off after my mom and Justice.

I turned to the girls. "You are all to return to your rooms." I waved a guard over to me. "You will follow him and he will take you to your rooms. You are not to leave your rooms until someone comes to collect you. We will arrange for your dinner to be brought to you."

They all nodded and left with the guard that I had indicated.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose before turning to look at the rest of the room.

My siblings each had a guard holding them with a hand over each of their mouths.

"Release them." I demanded.

The guards immediately followed orders and they rushed over to me.

I did my best to comfort them for a few minutes before I had to pull away. "I want you all to go to my room. I need to take care of a few things but I'll come get you guys once everything is taken care of."

Liz nodded and began to lead our siblings away before they could protest. They put up a bit of a fight but Liz made sure they kept moving in the right direction.

I watched them until they disappeared around a corner and then I collected myself. I needed to be strong right now and take over my father's responsibilities. Those who had survived this attack would look to me for directions and guidance and I had to set a good example for how I would deal with future attacks once I had the crown.

I stood a little taller and set to work.


	10. Chapter 10

**I hope you all enjoy this double update. Consider it an "I'm sorry" for taking forever to update this story. Once again though, updates will not be regular although I hope to have this story finished by New Years.**

**Once again, this chapter wasn't edited so sorry for the mistakes.**

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing everyone!**

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Four hours later, all of the damage and deaths were accounted for and the repairs–and funeral preparations–had begun. We'd lost many good soldiers in the battle with the rebels as well as a few maids who hadn't been able to reach the safe rooms in time.

It was long, tedious work to restore everything to the way it had once been and the work was not yet finished. Every dead body that I had lifted had cut me deeply, none of them had needed to die but the rebels just didn't see that. They were killing hundreds with their vicious attacks just for a shot to grab the power from my family.

Thankfully, most of the bodies had been carried outside to be buried so the remaining damage was mostly crushed glass and bloodstains on the walls and carpet.

I left the cleanup crew to their work once I had everything organized and went to collect my siblings from my room. We all needed an explanation from my mom about what had happened.

Once we reached the infirmary, we all huddled around the bed in which my mom sat.

"Is everything all right?" Dad asked me quietly while my family fussed over my unconscious mother.

I nodded. "Yes. You'll have to sign a few things later but everything else has been taken care of and the cleanup crew is already working on getting things straightened out."

"And the count?"

I sighed and raked a hand through my hair, knowing that he was referring to the number of deaths. "Fifty two guards, four maids, one cook, and five gardeners. They came in through the service entrance but had a small band of rebels attack the front gate to divert the guards' attention while most of them snuck in."

"Southerners then."

I nodded in confirmation.

My father rubbed his temples and sighed again. "We need to fix our security system; they've gotten inside too many times lately. It could be possible that they have a few people helping them from the inside as well so it's going to make it harder to find a system that will work. We'll just have to do inspections again to see if we can catch any of them."

"Already taken care of. I've arranged for inspections to be done once the main hallways and rooms have been set in order."

"Good work, son." My dad looked at me and clasped my shoulder. "You will make a fine king."

I straightened my shoulders at his praise and nodded in a form of silent thanks.

My mom groaned from her bed as her eyes began to open, ending our conversation.

She smiled at my dad weakly once her eyes had focused. "Hey there."

My dad just shook his head, tear misting his eyes. "If you do that one more damn time, I am going to have a heart attack, America." Although he sounded irritated, he smiled down at her and kissed her forehead gently.

"Justice?" my mom whispered.

"A bullet hit his spine and one of the disks shattered. The bullet wouldn't have affected him as much but…"

"But what?" my mom snapped, her tone taking on the same harshness that it had when she'd been directing the soldiers.

"The doctors _believe_," my dad sighed heavily, "that Justice will be paralyzed from the waist down. They said if he wouldn't have been moved or if he'd been treated immediately, it could have been prevented. They also said that it's unlikely that they'll be able to repair the damage now."

"What's the percent chance?"

"They are ninety percent sure that he will be paralyzed in some form, sixty percent sure that it will affect his legs. They've transferred him to Bruce's room so that he can be taken care of when he wakes up."

My mom hung her head, burying her face in her hands. A minute later, her sobs echoed among the groans of pain within the infirmary.

My dad sat on the edge of her bed, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her hair and repeated "it isn't your fault" to her again and again.

She just shook her head into his chest and continued to sob, tremors wracking through her entire body.

After a while, my mom finally peeled away from my dad and wiped her tears away quickly.

I sighed. "Mom, you need to explain this to us. I think we deserve to know why you fought and how you knew how to fight."

She just nodded sadly. "Yes, I suppose you deserve an explanation after everything that's happened."

And so she began her tale, starting with her entry into the Selection and ending with her reconnection to my grandparents, Uncle Garrett, and a man named Kota–though she said I'd met him as a child I didn't remember him and she explained that he was our uncle but that he was often busy with his artwork.

My siblings and I sat in silence when she was done, simply absorbing the vast amount of information. I was tempted to scream that she was lying, but the truth was in her eyes and coated all of her words when she spoke. My mom had lived through hell and I'd never even known.

As the silence among us continued, my mom eventually swung her feet over the edge of the bed.

Dad shook his head but helped her up and held her hand as she untied the back of the thin infirmary dress she had on. Soon, her back and the scar I'd seen before were exposed.

My siblings gasped when they saw the multitude of scars that covered her back, no area had been spared.

I stood and made my way over to her. "May I?" I asked softly.

My mom glanced at me then nodded, her muscles tensing.

I was very, very careful as I pressed my hands along her back. Each bump and rise of her skin lapped at least two other scars. Though none of them were recent, rage swelled within me toward the vile man who had done this to her…the man I was related to by blood.

"How long were you beaten?" I asked as I pulled my hands away from her skin. The amount of scarring made it apparent that she had suffered for a while.

"Your grandpa, my father, hit me for a while before I came to the palace. But King Clarkson was far more violent and I worked under him for about four years."

I shook my head as I sat down on the chair next to her bed, overwhelmed by everything that I had learned.

If I was related to that monster by blood, was it possible that once I became king that I'd become as corrupt and evil as he had?

I placed my head in my hands and sighed heavily. I had thought learning of my parent's past would have helped me. Instead, all I felt was a growing sadness and loneliness, as well as disgust.

What my mom had survived was incredible. The trials and tribulations she'd faced had nearly killed her. I was sad for her, for the life that she had been forced to endure.

I was also amazed by her strength. Through all of the shit that she had to go through, she never wavered in her love for my father. She'd held on to their love even when she through she would never be able to speak to him again. And I know that my father had held on to that love just as much as she had, even if he had married another woman when he though my mom had died.

I yearned for that kind of all-consuming love. I wanted someone who would never give up on me, someone who would stand by me no matter what. I wanted the love that my parents had and yet I had done nothing in my life to deserve that kind of love and for that I was disgusted with myself.

Hearing the truth of my parents past had changed my whole perspective on life. Love was not physical satisfaction or desire, nor was it simply knowing a person well. Love was the desire to risk anything in order to keep that person safe and happy, even if it killed you. Love was not easy, it was working together to fight through the hard times because in the end the feelings you had for each other are worth it. Love is strength and it is weakness. Love allows you to take on the world but it also leaves your heart in the open to get smashed.

I was not in love with Grace as I'd thought I'd been for so long. I was infatuated with her, not in love with her. I firmly believed that we could one day love each other though, or I hoped that we could.

Love is a contradiction, it is hard to love someone continuously but I was going to fight with every breath within me to find that woman who I would love.

I simply hoped to find my wife and in the process share a love with her like that love that my parents shared.

My eyes had finally been opened and I was ready to embrace my future.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, I know it's been a while and I'm so sorry for that. I really wanted to start writing this earlier (I had planned to have this story done by New Years but that didn't happen). Real life has just been kicking me in the butt lately, I won't offer any excuses but I hope that you guys can forgive me and I also hope some of you are still out there reading this story. I know updates have been super irregular and I'm sorry about that too, but please be aware that it probably won't get any better for a while. This chapter is extra long and there isn't too much foul language so please enjoy! Thank you to everyone who reads and especially to those who review, your words just make my day so much brighter!**

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"So, Lynne, what are your views on marriage?" I ask curiously as I search for an opening to grab the ball.

She thinks for a moment, bouncing the ball with one hand while watching me. "I think that two people should only marry for love. I don't believe in political marriages if that is what you're asking. What is the point of getting married if you aren't married to someone you love. If you marry someone just for politics then you'll end up hating them within a year of marrying them because you don't really know them, you don't know their likes and dislikes or if their personality is similar to yours, you don't know if they will just use you or if they will ignore your vows and be unfaithful."

I held in a chuckle at her usual chattiness, at times it almost seemed like she loved to hear herself talk. As I got to know Lynne a little more though, it became apparent that she just liked to talk to eliminate the chance of awkward silences. The last time we stopped talking, she fidgeted in her seat for a minute before blurting something about her favorite food. It was just as adorable as it was slightly annoying.

I dove for the ball but she spun and managed to shoot it into the basket.

I outright laughed and held my hands up in defeat as a dribble of sweat trickled down the side of my face. "All right, you definitely win. I can't believe you're this good at basketball."

She shrugged and made another perfect shot. "When my mom died and my dad was left with me and my sister he didn't really know what to do. I do a lot of 'guy things' compared to most girls because of my dad. My sister and I started playing basketball rather than dress up by the time I was seven."

A silence encompassed us and it became apparent that she wasn't entirely comfortable talking about her mother.

"So why did you decide to join the Selection?" I asked before she could say anything.

A blush spread fiercely across her cheeks and spread all the way down to her neck as we walked over to the cooler for some water.

"I don't really want to say, you'll think it's silly."

I simply smiled at her. "I would never do such a thing, especially if I knew it would embarrass you. Please, tell me?"

She contemplated for only a moment before she whispered, "I heard that the basketball court was awesome."

I nearly choked as I tried to contain my laughter. After a few seconds, I swallowed and simply uttered an, "Oh."

"I'm glad that I did though, you're pretty cool Damon." she said sincerely while looking me in the eyes.

I grinned. "Thank you. Now, I have to ask…do you have _any_ interest in marrying me? I want you to be honest, please."

"Will you eliminate me if you don't like my answer?"

I shook my head. "Not right away. I'll keep you here so that you can enjoy the court until the competition gets more serious. I will have to eliminate you eventually if you don't want to marry me but I won't do so immediately."

"Then, honestly, no I do not have an interest in marrying you. I think we could be great friends but I just don't feel anything romantic towards you. Don't misunderstand me, you're an awesome person and I have no doubt that you'll make some girl very lucky."

I nodded and smiled at her gratefully. "Thank you for being honest. I will keep you around as long as I can, but we probably won't have a lot of 'dates' because I really need to focus on finding a wife now. I'll try my best to make some time, but I won't be around as often because I need to spend time with the other girls. You are welcome to use the court whenever you want though and you may still come to me if you have any issues with the other girls."

Lynne nodded and pushed a piece of her black hair behind her ear. "Thanks. I have one piece of advice, Damon. Be careful with Ruby, she gives me a bad vibe and I'm actually a little scared of her. She just seems…off somehow. And you know I don't care about bettering myself in your eyes for the competition so I am being completely honest."

"Thank you for the advice, though I had guessed as much. Honestly, I'm only keeping her around to appease my advisors. They like that she has German roots and connections. I plan to eliminate her soon enough but for now she is an unfortunate inconvenience. I hope that you'll keep this conversation between us, Lynne, I don't want to the girls to start worrying needlessly and I don't need word of this reaching Ruby either."

"Of course, I won't say a word about this to anyone; I've got plenty of other things to talk about anyway."

I just chuckled and then held out my hand. "Well, goodbye for now then."

"Goodbye, Damon and thank you." she smiled gently.

I nodded and gestured for her to continue playing. She started shooting baskets again with a smile while I went to the locker rooms to change back into my "work clothes" and wash off the sweat which had accumulated during our game.

Once I was finished showering and changing, I waved to Lynne and calmly walked out of the room. When I was sure I was out of her earshot, I sighed and rubbed a hand down my face.

It was nice to know that I wouldn't have to worry about hurt feelings where Lynne was concerned but it was also limiting my options for who to choose out of the competition. I wasn't sure about Grace anymore and I had been avoiding her as much as I could, but I knew we would have to talk soon and I would have to tell her about my recent revelations about our relationship.

I made my way over to the soldier's training gym so that I could wheel Justice to lunch. Overall, Justice had taken his paralysis in stride and he was making a quick recovery. He still needed to be taken care of by others though because he had also broken three ribs during the attack. Eventually, he would be strong enough to wheel himself around.

I greeted Justice as I entered the gym and stopped so that he could shout out his final orders to the soldiers he was working with. I wheeled him into his office and pulled his lunch out of the mini fridge beside his filing cabinet.

I set his lunch out in front of him and then took a seat on the other side of the desk. I wanted to talk to him about my mom's past but I wasn't quite sure how to bring it up. It had been two weeks and I had been on numerous dates with the girls but I had only talked to my parents once since the attack. I just wasn't sure what I wanted to say or what I wanted to do around them.

"What do you need, Damon? I can tell that you need to say something, so out with it."

I chuckled; he always did know when I needed to talk to him. "Who was Jessica to you?"

"I–"

"I know that Jessica is my mom, but I just don't know who Jessica was to you specifically."

He rubbed his palms over his face and sighed. "Then I suppose that means that she finally told you about her past."

I nodded.

"Yes, I was in love with the woman your mother once was. She was my best friend and she taught me everything that I know. I owe her everything."

"Holy hell."

Justice laughed. "Surprised?"

"Just a bit." I rolled my eyes. Raking a hand through my hair, I took a deep breath before asking the question I was most afraid of. "Do you still love her?"

He rubbed a hand along his jaw. "I'm not entirely sure. I think I love who she used to be, I still love Jessica but I don't _love_ America. You mother is deeply in love with your father and over time I've learned to let her go. I think I will always love her to some capacity, she gave me a purpose when I was young and she's saved my life more times than I can count but I know that she is very happy with your father. As long as she's happy and safe then so am I. I'm glad that she was able to be reunited with Maxon after everything she suffered, even if I wish I could have given her the happiness that your father does."

I nodded. "If she wasn't married, would you go after her?"

He pondered it. "No. I can't give your mom what she needs to be happy. If she didn't have your father, she'd be broken. Maxon is able to balance her in a way that she needs and argues with her whereas with me and your mother, well we'd just fight it out until she won." He chuckled. "Your parents have a long history and they just…they fit and their relationship is one of the strongest that I've ever seen. I wouldn't be able to provide your mom with everything she'd need to be in that kind of relationship if Maxon wasn't around. I'm perfectly content to be her best friend and confidante, after Maxon of course."

"Why didn't you try to…pursue her before she reunited with my dad?" I asked curiously.

"Military protocol at the time was very strict, no romantic relationships were allowed within your unit. You mom changed that rule once she became queen but by then it was too late for me to do anything."

"Have you ever had a relationship with anyone?"

"I've tried to date a few times, even during the time I was working under your mom. It just didn't work out. Look, not many people are able to understand a soldier's mind, or understand why I wake up screaming most nights. There aren't many girls in the army either and even then none of them are like your mother."

I nodded as I rubbed my temples.

"Why did you want to know about all of this anyway?"

I shrugged. "A week ago, I believed that my mom was just a woman who went into the Selection and ended up marrying my dad. Now I know that she has survived things I can't even imagine, I feel like I don't even know her anymore."

Justice set his elbows on his desk and narrowed his eyes, anger sweeping over his features as his voice lowered. "She is the same person that she's always been. She's the one who was there for your first steps and your first words, the one who tucked you into bed at night and held you when you had nightmares and couldn't sleep. She still loves you and she raised you, her past does not define her just as yours does not define you. It is okay to want to learn about your mom's history but do not question her love for you or your family."

I shook my head. "I don't doubt her feelings or character, I just feel like–"

A knock interrupted me and I sighed as I stood and opened the door.

A guard bowed and then handed me a letter.

I opened it quickly and scanned over it. "Thank you, soldier." I turned back to Justice one the guard had walked away. "Thank you for talking to me, but it seems that the rebels are stirring up a few things. I will send someone to get you to your room for the night."

With that, I allowed him to quickly finish his lunch and I rolled him back out into the main room so that he could direct the next group of soldiers that came in.

I had so much on my mind, ideas and questions spinning in a never ending loop as I strode down the halls toward the conference room where I would meet with my dad and our many advisors.

Talking with Justice had cleared up many of the questions that I had regarding my mom's past but I was still hesitant about the idea of sitting down to discuss everything with my parents. I would eventually be ready to talk to them, I just wasn't sure if it would be today or even tomorrow.

I straightened my tie and smoothed the few creases on my suit. I straightened my back and looked up as I pushed the doors to the conference room open. For now I would ignore the issues buzzing in the back of my head and I would get to work.


	12. Chapter 12

**Don't start expecting daily updates, but I did have time to write this so I hope that you all enjoy it! And once again, thank you so much to those who review, you guys give me the motivation to write this story!**

* * *

"No way!" I manage to choke out as I laughed.

"Yes! She ate the whole thing before anyone could stop her!" Emily giggled and shook her head.

I smirked at her once we arrived at her door. "Thank you for the lovely evening, Emily, and for the hilarious story. It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard."

"Thank you for spending time with me." she smiled as she opened her door and stepped over the threshold.

I began to walk away but Emily gently tugged on my arm. I turned back to ask what she needed but wasn't able to say anything because her lips were pressed gently against my own.

She pulled away before I could react, whispered a soft "good night" and closed the door.

I gaped at the door for a minute before composing myself and walking away.

My mind reeled as I thought of the kiss. She was the second girl that I had ever kissed and I wasn't exactly sure how to feel about it.

Emily was a beautiful young woman but I didn't know her as well as I would like to. She was funny and easy to talk to but I didn't know any of the important detail about her or about her family.

Resolved, I decided to invite the girl's families to the palace so that I could meet them. Hopefully I would be able to learn more about all of the girls by meeting their parents and siblings.

It had officially been a month since my mother's past had been revealed and I had talked to both of my parents to clarify a few things. We had all been frustrated at first and screamed at each other, them about my unfair judgment of my mom's past and me about the enormous omission of truth. Eventually, we had all calmed down and exchanged genuine "I love you's" and cleared the air of any misconceptions we had.

My mom actually had believed that I hated her for her past. I quickly told her that it wasn't her past which upset me, just that they had kept it a secret for so long.

We both ended up apologizing and we all hugged by the end of the conversation.

I'd confessed my thoughts about love to my parents and they both said that they were proud that I was taking the competition seriously enough to realize that my feelings for Grace weren't what I once thought they were.

I still had to talk to Grace; I had been avoiding her for too long. Resolved, I started walking toward Grace's room to ask her on a date so that we could talk.

* * *

"What do you mean your feelings have changed? People don't just stop being in love over night! Have you been lying to me this whole time?" Grace screamed as tears ran down her face.

"You aren't listening to what I'm saying, Grace. Now please quite down, I don't need my personal relationship with you to be gossiped about tomorrow because the whole castle can hear you screaming." I said quietly but firmly, hoping that she would calm down slightly.

"My feelings haven't necessarily changed," I explained, "but I have changed as a person and what I want in a wife has changed, Grace. I thought I was in love with you, but I now realize that we don't really know each other that well, I don't even know anything about your family, much less what your likes and dislikes are. I know that we have good chemistry but at the same time I just don't know you like I thought I did. I want more out of our relationship than just physical attraction. I feel like if we took a few steps back and got to really know each other that we could work, that I could learn to truly love you like you deserve."

"So you're throwing away all the years we spent together, like they were nothing?" she seethed in a still too-loud voice.

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed in frustration. "No, Grace. I'm not saying that those years mean nothing; I'm saying that they don't mean enough for it to be called love. We were young, Grace, and we were exploring new feelings and sensations with each other but we really never sat down and just talked once you got out of the hospital. We were always kissing and touching and finding quiet corners to avoid the guards and my parents. I want to try building a relationship with you without all of the physical aspects so that we can learn more about each other."

"What," she asked quietly, "is it exactly that you don't know about me, Damon? I know everything about you and we've talked countless times. Sure, we got carried away sometimes but that doesn't mean that we never learned about each other."

I gritted my teeth. "What do I do in my free time?"

"Excuse me?"

"What," I said slowly, "do I do in my free time? What are my hobbies? Who is the person I talk to and confide in the most outside of my family?"

"Umm, you run the kingdom with your father in your free time. You like painting and I'm the person you're closest to, silly." she said confidently.

I shook my head, "Wrong. I do run the kingdom with my father but I also train with Justice – my closest friend who I consider family but who isn't related to me by blood at all – and I despise painting, I cannot draw a straight line without a ruler. I like to train with the soldiers and I like to take pictures, I love playing the piano while my mother sings and I love spending time with my siblings. I love messing around with my mom in the kitchen and taking a walk around the grounds with my dad. But most of all I love simply spending time with my family, even if that mean just sitting together for a quiet dinner.

"Do you see what I mean now? We don't really know each other; we know only the most generic things. I know that you like chocolate because the one time I brought you some you practically shoved the whole bar into your mouth after the first taste. But I don't know much else beyond that. I really do want to get to know you better, but you'll have to accept that you won't necessarily be a priority anymore. We will have to date according to the expectations of the Selection and I will go on dates with you, but I will also be dating the other women in this competition and I may grow fond of some of them. I may not choose you either but I really want to try to make things work between us, Grace."

She sniffled and eventually she broke down in sobs. I pulled her to me but she fought me off and I let her go. I simply stood and waited for her to say something while ignoring my desire to comfort her.

"I-I can't do this, D-Damon. The thought of you with other girls is j-just going to k-k-kill me." She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I don't want to be eliminated yet, but I really don't know if I can accept the fact that you no longer want me. I need time to think about this. Those years we spent together might not hold much significance to you any longer, Damon, but they meant a great deal to me. I'm not sure if I want to try being with you because you're acting as though our time together meant so little when it was the best years of my life. I don't know if I can be the girl that you want and I'm not sure if you're the man I need." She bit her lip and looked at the floor.

I nodded although my heart was breaking. I might not be in love with Grace, but I had been with her for a long time and I had really hoped that she would be willing to work on our relationship. "I can accept that, but time is running out Grace. I cannot allow this competition to drag on while you decide what you want. I need to know if you're willing to try again or not soon. I will give you a week to decide, and if you choose to not pursue a relationship with me then I will eliminate you and hopefully we can be friends.

"I'll escort you to your room now." I offered her my arm and she took it silently.

When we reached her door, she opened it and whispered, "Thank you for giving me time to think, Damon."

I nodded and gave her a small smile. "Of course, Grace. I will see you in a week."

She gave me a weak smile and shut the door.

I huffed out a breath and started walking toward the training gym to work out some of the tension in my body.

* * *

I froze at what I saw when I opened the door.

"Move it, my grandmother could run faster than the lot of you! If you fall behind then you will be punished severely and trust me when I say that I will not go easy on any of you just because you've been allowed to slack off while Justice recovered!" Mom shouted as a group of men ran faster in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of her.

I leaned against the wall in shock and stared in stunned silence while they finished running circles around the gym. Three men fell behind my mom and she called them all forward while the rest of the group was hunched over with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

"You three are a major disappointment. You will complete five hundred push-ups within three hours, then you will run until sunset and I will assign someone to watch you to ensure that you are running. If you faint or if you slow down while running then you will have to do twice as many push-ups tomorrow and then you will train with me personally for five hours. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Captain!" the three shouted before they began doing the push-ups in a frantic attempt to complete all of them within the time they were given.

Mom's eyes scanned the room and eventually settled on me. She smiled gently and waved before turning back to the soldiers and shouting her orders.

I ran into the locker room and changed into my workout clothes before joining the group of soldiers.

Mom noticed and raised her brow in my direction.

I just smiled and shrugged, I wanted to see how much tougher she was than Justice. I doubted that it could be too much worse, I had trained with Justice for years and she had trained him so it was likely that I would be able to keep up with whatever she had planned.

* * *

I panted with my hands on my knees as they trembled. Air just wouldn't come fast enough; it was like I could only get in a small gasp before I had to exhale. My whole body was sore and I was trying desperately just to stay on my feet. Training with Justice had never been this difficult or this intense.

Sweat had soaked through my shirt and I had discarded it thirty minutes ago. I was even tempted to take off my shorts in an effort to cool down, but that would be extremely inappropriate. Sweat was pouring off of me and my hair was slicked to my head due to amount of liquid that was coming out of my body.

"Move it, boys! We aren't even half way done!" the demon-woman known as my mother shouted.

I took in a few more gasps before running to the next workout station with my group.

* * *

I collapsed on the floor and panted as I desperately tried to catch my breath. I didn't have enough energy to even groan as my body struggled to function. I had been completely wrong in my assumption that I would be able to keep up easily.

My mom's "warm-up" was hard; I thought we had finished for the day when she announced that we would start the "actual" workout. My mom was insane when it came to her workout, if one person tried to slack off then she would add an extra thirty minutes to the workout for everyone.

Mom kneeled down and rubbed my back while she chuckled. "You okay, son?"

"No, dying." I groaned as my heart continued to beat rapidly in my chest.

She simply laughed. "You didn't expect the workout to be easy, did you? I need our men to be in top shape in order to protect everyone in the castle. Soldiers here are less likely to die but they also have intense training to keep them in top form. I'm actually pretty pissed off that none of our trainers have been keeping up my routine; I'll have to discuss that with them. It's important that our men be at their best so that the rebels can't get through to us or our personnel.

"Now, listen to me and slow your breathing. It will feel uncomfortable and wrong, but it will slow your heartrate and allow your body to recover properly. Match your breathing to mine." she demanded.

I did as she said and slowed my breathing. My lungs ached for more oxygen but eventually my heartrate did slow and I was able to breathe normally once more. "I would hate to be under your command, Mom. That was the most intense workout of my life. Everything hurts right now."

She smirked. "That means I'm doing my job right, sweetheart."

I paused for a moment and then asked, "Will you train me?"

"What?" she asked, shock clearly lacing her tone.

"I want to be able to fight as well as you do, Mom. I need to know how to protect myself, and also protect my future wife and family. I want to be able to continue working with the soldiers once I'm king and I feel like you're the only one who can allow me to accomplish that successfully." I quietly begged her as I stood up so that we could both be more comfortable and so that I could look her in the eye.

She frowned as she stood with me. "Damon, it isn't just training. You'll have to kill people in order to be good at this, you'll have to learn to shut down your emotions at times so that you can do things that most would consider unthinkable. You will have to kill men as they beg for mercy because they may have a bomb strapped to their chest, you will have to kill men and women who may be younger than you or who may seem frail. You will not be allowed to show mercy or kindness if I train you, you will not be allowed to be yourself. When you act as a soldier, you will have to become a whole other person in order to do what needs to be done.

"I will not show favoritism toward you either; I will only excuse your absences if you are with your father on urgent business and even then I will be hard on you and require that you make up the work. Do you really think you can handle that right now?" she asked without any discernable emotion in her voice.

I sighed as I thought about all my current commitments. "Maybe not right now, not with the Selection in progress. I don't have the time to fully commit to your training yet, at least not with how much training I know you do with your soldiers. I would like to train with you after I get settled with my position as king, though, if you are agreeable."

She grinned. "Very well. Thank you for actually considering the time constraints you currently have, Damon. That is an excellent quality to have, especially for a future king. Though I do suggest that you don't delay getting settled, I'm only getting older after all and eventually I won't be able to train you."

"Thank you, Mom." I ran a hand through my soaked hair and grimaced at how much sweat dripped off of my hand afterward.

"I should let you shower." Mom said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I probably stink." I chuckled as turned toward the locker room. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"Of course. We can discuss your training more after the Selection is over."

I nodded and went to shower.


	13. Chapter 13

"So, Eleanor, tell me something about yourself."

She smiled softly. "Well, I'm seventeen years old and I like to play music in my free time. I'm also a little bit shy; I never really volunteered in class because I was afraid to say something dumb in front of everyone."

I chuckled. "You don't seem shy to me, at all." I commented as we continued to sit peacefully in the library. The smells of books, both old and new, swirled around us and all was silent. It was peaceful and exactly what I needed after a long day spent in meetings with my dad and our advisors.

She blushed and ducked her head. "I find it easy to talk to you."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"So…what about you? I've heard all about you and your family from the television, but who are you _really_, Prince Damon?" she asked curiously.

"Well, there isn't much to tell. I'm afraid that I'm dreadfully boring. But I like spending time with my family when I can and training with the troops as well."

"You train with the military men?" she questioned, appearing somewhat surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a good workout and a good stress reliever. Besides, getting to know some of the soldiers is nice, it's not like they're just mindless machines for our protection. I'm grateful to have all of them here to protect those I love, but I also can't ever repay them for the huge sacrifice that they have to make just to be here."

"Yeah, when my dad went into the military, it was hard on the whole family. Right before he left, he made me promise to take care of my family and I've been doing my best to follow his last wish ever since."

"If you don't mind my asking…how did he die?"

She shook her head and frowned. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't willing to answer your questions. He was murdered by the rebels, two months away from his retirement from military service."

"I'm sorry." I murmured softly, taking her hand and rubbing my thumb across her knuckles. "I can't imagine the pain that must have caused you and your family."

"It's okay. We've been able to get by and that's what's important. I miss him every day, but I know that he'd want me to be happy."

"And are you happy?"

She smiled again. "I'm getting there."

"I'm glad to hear that. What about the rest of your family, do you have any brothers or sisters?" I asked, trying to gently steer the conversation away from her father's death.

"No sisters, but I have a younger brother. He's growing so fast, I remember when he was six and I was twelve, he climbed up a tree and got stuck up there. I had to climb up and carry him down and we ended up falling. I broke my arm because of his big butt." She giggled at the memory and shook her head. "He's grown up so fast; he's starting to get taller than me. It's crazy to see him shoot up already."

"Yeah, watching your siblings grow up is a little weird, huh? I remember when my youngest sister was learning her first steps and now she's six years old and learning how to be a princess." I shook my head in wonderment over where all the time had gone. "I still remember holding her for the first time; I was a little freaked out because she was so red." I chuckled when I thought of the scolding I'd received from my mother when I'd commented on it, right before I'd realized just how perfect she was.

"Imagine when it's your own kids, I have a feeling that the time will go by even faster."

"Probably, but it'll be worth it. I want a lot of kids so that they can all be as close as my siblings and I are. I actually need to start spending more time with them, I feel like I've been neglecting them lately."

"I couldn't agree more, I want as many kids as I can have so that they'll always be able to depend on each other. And as for your siblings, I'm sure they understand that you're busy, you'll be able to spend more time with them once things calm down a little bit."

I shot her a grin. "Thanks." I glanced at the window and noted the setting sun. "I suppose I should escort you back to your room, Eleanor."

She, too, looked at the window. "Yeah, that's probably best. I'm sure that you'll have a busy day tomorrow."

I stood and held out my arm to her and began to guide her out of the library once she'd looped her arm through mine.

"I'm glad that we were able to spend some time together today, Eleanor. You're definitely an interesting woman. Will you accept another date with me tomorrow for lunch? We could go out to the gardens to eat and talk, if you'd like."

"I actually don't really like the outdoors thing; I have a severe allergy to bees so it's kind of dangerous to be around flowers and other plants.

"I'd still love to go out with you tomorrow," she hastily added, "but maybe we could do it somewhere more…indoors?"

I thought for a moment and then smiled. "I know the perfect spot. There's a balcony outside of a meeting room which overlooks the garden. We'll be away from the plants, but we'll still be able to enjoy the view. Does that sound better?"

"It sounds wonderful. I'd love to have lunch with you tomorrow."

I grinned and released her arm once we'd reached her room. "I'll come for you around noon then, I look forward to seeing you again." I said softly and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Her face began to turn red, but she nodded and returned the gesture before scampering off into her room. "Good night, Prince Damon."

"Good night, sleep well."

She gave me one last small smile and then shut her door quietly.

I stood in the hall for a moment and rubbed my face, this whole thing was not getting any easier. I'd been on several dates but none of the girls really stood out to me, they were all lovely but none of them truly understood me.

But then, maybe that was just because I wasn't giving them a chance to. I'd have to start opening up more with these girls if I wanted them to open up to me so that I could get to know them better.

This whole process was becoming stressful, especially with my advisors breathing down my neck and Grace mad at me and the training my father put me through to prepare me for the crown. Everything was just a mess.

I'd try harder though. I would find my wife in this competition, I just had to look a little harder.

* * *

**Okay, so that was Eleanor and Damon. I know that this chapter was a little boring but I want to start going more in depth into the girls' personalities. Next chapter, we'll have lunch with Eleanor and maybe a date with another girl. Is there one specific character you'd like to see as Damon's second date in the next chapter?**

**After I post the next chapter with Damon's two dates, we'll see what Grace's decision is. What do you think it is going to be?**

**Also, I know that this chapter was a little short. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a bit longer. I also can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out, just know that I post them as soon as I finish writing them so please be patient with me as I try to manage my time.**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think! And, as always, thank you for reading :)**


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